Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes + A Game Day Baked Potato Bar

Learn how to make slow cooker baked potatoes in your Crockpot, seriously the easiest method with zero cleanup. Prep baked potatoes for dinner or for a baked potato bar for your next gathering with this set it and forget it technique!

I’m sure you’ve all made baked potatoes before — but what about slow cooker baked potatoes? Did you even know there was such a thing?!?! We rarely make baked potatoes for dinner because they take forever to cook, so this slow cooker technique has seriously been a game changer for me…

I’ll be honest: making baked potatoes in your slow cooker requires no less effort than making them in the oven. In fact, they take even longer to cook. So what’s the big deal? It’s the easiest set-it-and-forget-it method that makes large quantities all at once. Think holiday gatherings, game day get togethers, potluck dinners, etc. We even use it for regular weeknight dinners — the potatoes cook slowly all day and are ready when guests arrive or the rest of our dinner is done.

How To Make Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

First things first, scrub and dry your potatoes WELL. There’s nothing worse than getting a mouthful of dirt with a bite of your perfectly cooked, fluffy baked potato. From there, prep your potatoes by pricking them all over with a fork, then rubbing them with a little olive oil and kosher salt. See, just like when you bake them in the oven! But after this point, it’s totally hands off…
You can just toss them in your slow cooker as is, but when I’m making them for a gathering, I like to wrap them in foil. If I’m wrapping them, I just set everything up assembly line style: lay out foil squares all across my counter, prick the potatoes and place them on the foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt on them, and then rub the oil and salt all over. Then I can wash my hands and wrap them up without a lot of mess and fuss.

Finally, place them all in the slow cooker, set the lid on it, and turn it on. Depending on the size your potatoes, they should take about 5 hours on high and 8-10 hours on low. Try to rotate them once while cooking, but if you can’t, it’s not a huge deal. You just might find that the top potatoes are slightly less cooked than the bottom, in which case, I rotate them right before serving to give those top ones a few extra minutes.

My small 5-quart slow cooker holds about seven large potatoes, which is perfect for our family! I estimate you could easily fit 12-14 regular size potatoes in a larger slow cooker. I’m actually keeping an eye out for a good deal on a larger programmable slow cooker so I can more easily control exactly when my potatoes will be done cooking. If you spot one, please let me know!

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Description

Learn how to make slow cooker baked potatoes in your Crockpot, seriously the easiest method with zero cleanup. Prep baked potatoes for dinner or for a baked potato bar for your next gathering with this set it and forget it technique!

Ingredients

6-8 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed & dried

4 teaspoons olive oil (about 1/2 t. per potato)

2 teaspoons kosher salt (about 1/4 t. per potato)

Instructions

Tear off 6-8 squares of aluminum foil (one per potato) and lay them out on the counter. Prick your potatoes all over with a fork, and place one on each square.

Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil over each potato, sprinkle with kosher salt, and rub the oil and salt all over each potato. Wash your hands, and wrap the foil tightly around each potato.

Place the potatoes in your slow cooker and cover. Bake for about 5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low. Rotate them around halfway if possible to ensure even cooking.

Nutrition

Calories:0

Sugar:0 g

Sodium:0 mg

Fat:0 g

Saturated Fat:0 g

Unsaturated Fat:0 g

Trans Fat:0 g

Carbohydrates:0 g

Fiber:0 g

Protein:0 g

Cholesterol:0 mg

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Game Day Baked Potato Bar

These slow cooker baked potatoes have quickly become one of our go-to game day eats. We love both tailgating and homegating — either way, setting up a baked potato bar truly makes entertaining guests a breeze!

Start a big batch of potatoes early in the day, set out some delicious toppings, and you’ve got simply the easiest, tastiest way to feed a crowd. Trust me, NO ONE passes up a baked potato bar!

Especially when you set out Heluva! Good Dips along with the toppings… This is my (not-so) secret weapon to a dynamite baked potato bar. Thick and creamy Heluva! Good Dips elevate any baked potato to the next level, no butter necessary!

When you top your slow cooker baked potatoes with dips this flavorful, you can keep your toppings minimal. I keep things simple with diced bacon, chopped green onions, sliced cherry tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese. This is easy entertaining at its very best!

I’d love to see how your slow cooker baked potatoes turn out… Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram and use the hashtags #ChipsDipsandTips & #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of Heluva Good!; all opinions and text are my own. Find Heluva Good! bold-flavored dips in the dairy aisle of your neighborhood supermarket. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this site!

What a fantastic idea, Mickie! I think it depends on your sleep schedule. My guess is you’d want to cook them for less time, maybe like 6-7 hours on low. A programmable slow cooker would be a good thing to have if you typically sleep longer, so you could count backwards from when you usually pack lunches and set it to start cooking at that time. If that’s not an option, I’m thinking a silicone steamer basket (like this one I use with my Instant Pot) might do the trick by keeping the potatoes elevated off of the direct heat, allowing them to cook longer without getting overdone. I’ll try it out soon and report back, or if you try it sooner, please share your results!